He reminded that owners already have vetted the hedge fund billionaire as a 5 percent owner of the Steelers.

Tepper actually needs only 23 votes because he'll get the vote from Jerry Richardson, who has accepted Tepper's winning bid of $2.275 billion. Whether that vote will be cast by Richardson or COO Tina Becker remains to be seen.

Richardson, 81, arrived at the meetings on Monday, the first time he has attended the league meetings since the spring meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2016.

Richardson put the team up for sale after the season amidst an NFL investigation into sexual and racial workplace misconduct. The league is expected to announce the results of the investigation after the sale is finalized, which should come in July.

Tepper was selected, multiple sources told ESPN, so the owners could vote at these meetings and the league could move forward with releasing the results of the investigation. Sources said the vetting process on Charleston, South Carolina, billionaire Ben Navarro, the runner-up in the process, likely couldn't have been concluded by this week.

On Monday night, Tepper spent part of the evening eating dinner at his hotel bar and chatting with commissioner Roger Goodell.

Tepper, with a net worth of $11 billion, also was the only bidder who could write a check for the team without minority partners.

"Yeah, we know something about him,'' McNair said of Tepper, whom he hasn't met personally. "Obviously, [the Steelers have] been pleased with him. I'm sure he'll get a good hearing by our committee, and everything looks favorable. We've done preliminary things, so I don't think there will be any surprises."